From the stage back to the screen, Hawkins is getting the pro-shot treatment.
Netflix is filming the Broadway production of “Stranger Things: The First Shadow” this week for a future streaming release. The filming brings the theatrical chapter of the “Stranger Things” universe to streaming audiences and captures the show’s original Broadway company in its current form.
To accommodate the shoot, producers Netflix and Sonia Friedman Productions canceled performances from Feb. 10 through Feb. 14. The play will resume its regular performance schedule on Feb. 15. No release window has been set for the filmed version.
The Broadway cast is led by Tony nominee Louis McCartney, who stars as Henry Creel after originating the role in London’s West End. A new ensemble will take over the production in late March, with Victor de Paula Rocha stepping into the role of Henry Creel alongside Ayana Cymone as Patty Newby, Shea Grant as Joyce Maldonado, Juan Carlos as Bob Newby and Matthew Erick White as James Hopper Jr.
“Stranger Things: The First Shadow” opened on Broadway April 22, 2025, at the Marquis Theatre, following its West End debut in December 2023. The production has seen a significant boost in interest following the release of Netflix’s final season of “Stranger Things,” becoming one of Broadway’s top weekly earners and recently posting grosses of about $1.4 million.
Written by Kate Trefry and based on an original story by the Duffer Brothers, Jack Thorne and Trefry, the play functions as a standalone prequel rooted in the mythology of the hit series. Set in 1959 Hawkins, Ind., the story centers on teenage Henry Creel as his family relocates in search of a fresh start. As unsettling events ripple through the town, Henry begins to grapple with the frightening possibility that he may be connected to the darkness taking hold.
The production explores the early lives of characters familiar to fans of the series, while laying groundwork that connects directly to the events of the television show, including its fifth and final season.
Directed by Stephen Daldry and co-directed by Justin Martin, the play features a cast of 34 and expansive stagecraft that blends practical effects with cinematic storytelling. The Duffer Brothers serve as creative producers, with Shawn Levy’s 21 Laps Entertainment acting as associate producer.
Netflix previously documented the making of the stage production in “Behind the Curtain: Stranger Things: The First Shadow,” released in April 2025.
With cameras now rolling inside the Marquis Theatre, the Broadway chapter of “Stranger Things” is poised to live on long after the lights dim — offering fans a front-row seat to the Upside Down, no Playbill required.